For the Raiders and 49ers, the 2014 season–starting with training camp–is all about pressure, no patience, and increasing urgency

Jim Harbaugh’s full 49ers squad hits the field in Santa Clara to start training camp Thursday, which is Day 1 of another planned gallop into the playoffs.

Dennis Allen’s full Raiders squad starts practicing a day later in Napa, and this event should be cracking with kinetic energy, too.

Two edgy franchises, two high-strung coaches, two levels of expectation… but there’s one unifying Bay Area training camp theme this summer:

No more patience.

Thanks to the lack of closure in the last few seasons, this year shapes up as either a long-awaited break though or a breaking point for these teams.

And not much in between.

The 49ers crave a Super Bowl title after three bitter near-misses in Harbaugh’s first three seasons; there’s a natural build-up of angst and over-anticipation.

Meanwhile, Harbaugh’s contractual situation looms as a larger issue every day, some significant players aren’t so young any more, and two stalwarts are upset about their own contracts.

That comes as the York family counts up all the money their new stadium is already producing. (Yes, Harbaugh—who has two years left on his original five-year deal–is very aware of this financial fact.)
Of course, the 49ers are still extremely talented; there are up-and-comers stocked everywhere on this roster.

But this season will determine whether owner Jed York and general manager Trent Baalke have to re-cycle the roster in 2015 and how much leverage Harbaugh (and some star players) will have heading into next off-season.

There’s tension; there’s money everywhere; there’s a lot riding on this single season.

And the Raiders need a breakthrough season for an entirely different reason:

Owner Mark Davis has kept Allen and general manager Reggie McKenzie on the job through back-to-back 4-12 seasons, but it’s hard to believe he’d absolve them if they deliver another poor campaign.
Allen and McKenzie understand this, absolutely.

That’s why they imported quarterback Matt Schaub and a slew of other mid-career veterans who might not be around much past this season but who are needed right now.
Because it’s urgent.

That’s not bad. That’s just the way things work when the pressure builds for a few seasons, patience is displayed and then exhausted, and everything becomes a full mad rush to a conclusion.

Just a few more individual examples of how the pressure is working for both teams…

–Urgent example: The 49ers’ support of linebacker Aldon Smith through several legal problems, including his recent 12-day sentence on weapons and DUI charges… and pending NFL punishment.

Harbaugh & Co. need a pass rusher to beat Seattle, Smith is one of the best in the league, and the 49ers are crossing their fingers and hoping Smith sacks Russell Wilson more often than he gets into trouble.

Wish they had the run first mentality on the Ravens three! It would be six working on seven.

ds207

Mckenzie and Allen are lucky to still be on the payroll, they tried to buy veterans to plug holes for this year, but they have a ton of holes, and their drafts have been lousy. For the Niners, Boone and Davis had better show up for camp, or they will be replaced by a deep roster and I do not think that Baalke and York will be afraid to trade or sign a veteran to replace either of these 2 guys.

A Publisher

Speaking of run-first mentality … How concerned should we be for the fact that Lattimore was recently placed on the non-football injury list heading into training camp? Is this just an extra precaution, or has his knee STILL not fully recovered?